Combination torqueing and ratcheting wrench

ABSTRACT

A combination torqueing and ratcheting wrench for a hexagonal member having a body with a handle extending in one direction and spaced apart jaws extending in the opposite direction, one of the jaws being a torqueing jaw and the other being a back up jaw, the spacing between the jaws being configured to engage at least portions of at least five sides of a hexagonal member whereby a hexagonal member received therein may be torqued by rotation of the handle relative to the member in either direction, the jaws having at the outer ends an open space therebetween, the torqueing jaw having a notch formed of two planer surfaces, one being a torqueing surface and the other a positioning surface, the back up jaw having at the outer end a back up surface which is parallel to the torqueing jaw torqueing surface, the arrangement permitting a hexagonal member to be rotated in one direction by engagement thereof between the torqueing surface and the back up surface and whereby rotation of the wrench in the other direction causes the surfaces to slip upon the periphery of the hexagonal member, thus the hexagonal member may be ratcheted against the outer ends of the jaws.

United States Patent 1191 Evans 1451 Nov. 26, 1974 COMBINATION TORQUEING AND RATCHETING WRENCH [75] Inventor: James Preston Evans, Oklahoma [52] U.S.Cl. ..81/ll9,8l/125.1 51 1m.c1 ..B25b 13/02 [58] Field ofSearch 81/119, 121 B, 125.1

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l/l897 Olden 2,669,147 2/1954 Koenig.... 8l/ll9 3,242,775 3/1966 Hinkle 8l/l 19 3,252,359 5/l966 Bodkin 81/119 Primary ExaminerAl Lawrence Smith Assistant Examiner.lames G. Smith Attorney, Agent, or FirmHead & Johnson [57] ABSTRACT A combination torqueing and ratcheting wrench for a hexagonal member having a body with a handle extending in one direction and spaced apart jaws extending in the opposite direction, one of the jaws being a torqueing jaw and the other being a back up jaw, the spacing between the jaws being configured to engage at least portions of at least five sides of a hexagonal member whereby a hexagonal member received therein may be torqued by rotation of the handle relative to the member in either direction, the jaws having at the outer ends an open space therebetween, the torqueing jaw having a notch formed of two planer surfaces, one being a torqueing surface and the other a positioning surface, the back up jaw having at the v outer end a back up surface which is parallel to the torqueing jaw torqueing surface, the arrangement permitting a hexagonal member to be rotated in one direction by engagement thereof between the torqueing surface and the back up surface and whereby rotation of the wrench in the other direction causes the surfaces to slip upon the periphery of the hexagonal member, thus the hexagonal member may be ratcheted against the outer ends of the jaws.

4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures COMBINATION TORQUEING AND RATCHETING WRENCH BACKGROUND, SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF I THE INVENTION This is a hand wrench of the type having no moving parts. Wrenches without moving parts have for many years been in common use for rotating nuts, bolts and other members. The configuration most frequently utilized for nuts and bolts and other such items to be rotated is hexagonal. Two basic types of hand wrenches are utilized for rotating hexagonal members: the first, being termed an open end wrench, has spaced apart jaws with parallel surfaces which engage opposite faces of the hexagonal member; and the second, being termed a box end" wrench, has an enclosure which encompasses all six sides of the hexagonal member. These type of wrenches function completely satisfactorily except that with each the wrench must be disengaged from the member being rotated each time it is necessary to change the relationship of the wrench to the member.

Ratcheting wrenches have been devised, most of which utilize a socket portion which engages the hexagonal member and a ratcheting handle having moving parts which engage the socket portion. By means of such ratcheting wrenches the members may be rotated without disengaging the wrench from the hexagonal member. Such ratcheting wrenches function satisfactorily except they are more expensive, and are bulkier than hand wrenches. In addition, ratcheting socket wrenches require the hexagonal member to be unobstructed so that the socket portion can be freely attached to it, this means that in many instances it is not possible to fit a socket wrench over the hexagonal member.

Hand wrenches for ratcheting hexagonal members having no moving parts have been developed, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,244 entitled Speed Wrenches," issued Oct. 2, I973. Wrenches of this type perform completely satisfactorily, however, they apply effective torqueing pressure to only two of the six haxagonal surfaces, the same as the open end wrench discussed above.

The present invention is directed towards a wrench for use in rotating hexagonal members having means for applying increased torque to the hexagonal member while at the same time providing means for ratcheting the member.

Therefore, an object of this invention to provide an improved wrench for rotating hexagonal members.

More particularly, an object of this invention is to provide a combination torqueing and ratcheting wrench having means of applying increased torque to hexagonal members while at the same time providing means of ratcheting the members.

Still more particularly, an object of this invention is to provide a wrench having no moving parts having means of engaging five sides ofa hexagonal member to apply torque to the member and also having means for ratcheting the member in a way such that it is not necessary to remove contact of the wrench with the hexagonal member while it is being ratcheted.

These and other objects as well as a more complete understanding of the invention will be had by reference to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEWS FIG. 1 is an outline of a hexagonal member showing representative dimensions.

FIG. 2 is a plane view of a wrench embodying this invention in which the wrench is capable of torqueing and ratcheting a hexagonal member of one size at the left end, and a hexagonal member of a different and smaller size at the right end.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of one end of the wrench of FIG. 2 showing a hexagonal member engaged by the wrench.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the wrench as shown in FIG. 3 with the wrenchreversed and showing the wrench engaging a hexagonal member in the mode wherein the hexagonal member may be ratcheted, that is, rotated without disengagement of the wrench from the peripheral surfaces of the member.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show the action of the wrench when ratcheting a hexagonal member.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the wrench typically referred to as a crow foot in which the handle portion is capable of receiving a removable extension.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 is an outline of a typical hexagonal member 10, such as a nut, bolt or so forth. The hexagonal member 10 has a distance between opposed faces of Y and a length along one edge of Z.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4 the wrench is best illustrated. The wrench includes a body 12, having a handle portion 14. Extending from the body 12 in the direction opposite the handle 14 is a pair of spaced apart jaws, one being a torqueing jaw 16 and the other being a backup jaw 18. The spacing between the jaws, generally indicated by the numeral 20, is configured to engage at least portions of five sides of the hexagonal member 10. In the illustration of FIG. 3 the surfaces 20 are in the form of a portion of a twenty-four sided figure composed of one hexagonal figure superimposed over another hexagonal member of the same size and rotated 30 relative to the first.

The right side of FIG. 2 shows the area 20 configured of a portion of a hexagon. In either the arrange of FIG. 3 on the right side of FIG. 2, the area 20 engages at least portions of five sides of hexagonal member 10. In the arrangement of the right end of FIG. 2, all four sides of the hexagonal member 10 are contacted by the wrench and a portion of the fifth side is contacted. In the arrangement of FIG. 3 the contact with the hexagonal member 10 is substantially the same except portions between corners of the flat faces are not contacted. The torque imparted to hexagonal member 10 by the configuration of FIG. 6 or FIG. 3 is substantially the same. The advantage of the configuration of FIG. 3 is that when torqueing the hexagonal member 10 the wrench handle needs to be rotated (when the wrench is disengaged from member 10) only 30 to obtain a new bite on the member 10, whereas when the configuration of the spacing 20 is hexagonal, as the right hand side of FIG. 2, the wrench handle must be rotated 60 to get a new bite on a hexagonal member.

The hexagonal member 10, when positioned between jaw 16 and 18, as shown in FIG. 3, may be rotated in either direction by rotation of the handle, as indicated by the arrows. Thus, the wrench functions in the way of an open end wrench or box end wrench and may be employed to apply high torque to a hexagonal member.

At the outer end of torqueing jaw 16 isa positioning surface 22 and intersecting it a torqueing surface 24. The surfaces 22 and 24 do not contact hexagonal member when it is positioned between jaws 16 and 18. Positioning surface 22 preferably intersects torqueing surface 24 at an angle of 120. The outer end of back up jaw 18 has a back up surface 26. The back up surface 26 is parallel to the torqueing surface 24 and spaced from it a distance A which is equal to Y. The

length B of torqueing surface 24 is less than /2 Z. The

positioning surface 22, torqueing surface 24, and back up surface 26 function to ratchet the hexagonal member 10. FIG. 4 shows a hexagonal member 10 in the position to be ratcheted. When the handle 14 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in solid outline the hexagonal member 10 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow. When the handle 14 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in solid outline the hexagonal member 10 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow. When the handle is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in dotted outline no torque is applied to the member and, therefore, it is not rotated.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show a sequence of rotation of a hexagonal member. In FIG. 5, the wrench handle is ro-- tated clockwise towardsthe position as shown in FIG. 6. Torqueing surface 24 and backup surface 26 engage member 10 at opposite corners to rotate the member clockwise. When the direction of the movement of handle 14 is changed to counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 7v the wrench does not engage member 10 but instead surfaces 22, 24 and 26 slide on the priphery of the member. When the wrench has been rotated 60 relative to the member a new bite can be obtained and by rotating the wrench again in the clockwise direction the member can be again rotated clockwise. Thus, by a succession of movements of the wrench handle 10 in alternate clockwise and counterclockwise directions member 10 can be rotated without removing the wrench from contact with the member.

To facilitate the slipping of the wrench on the periph ery of the hexagonal member 10, the outer end of torqueing jaw 16 is provided with a guiding surface 28 intersecting torqueing surface 24. The plane of guiding surface 28 intersecting the plane of backup jaw backup surface towards the wrench body 12 at an angle less than 90.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the wrench in the crow foot design, in which the handle portion 14 is provided with an opening 30 to receive a detachable handle extension (not shown).

The wrench described fulfills the objectives initially set forth in that a hexagonal member may be rotated with a high degree of torque when received between the jaws l6 and 18, or the member may be ratcheted by means of the surfaces at the outer end of the jaws. While the invention has been described with a certain degree of exactness it is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for exemplification since the actual appearance of wrenches embodying the invention may vary considerably, but the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the attached claim, or claims, including the full range of equivalency to which each element thereof is entitled. I

What is claimed:

1. A combination torqueing and ratcheting wrench for a hexagonal member in which the distance between opposing faces is Y and the length along a face is Z comprising:

a body having a handle portion extending in one direction and spaced apart jaws in the opposite direction, one of the jaws being a torqueing jaw and the other being a backup jaw, the spacing between the jaws configured to engage at least portions of at least five sides of a hexagonal member whereby a hexagonal member therein may be torqued by rotation of the handle relative to the member in either direction, the jaws having at the outer ends an open spacetherebetween, the torqueing jaw having, at the outer end thereof a notch formed of two planer surfaces, one being a torqueing surface and the other a positioning surface, the torqueing and positioning surface intersecting at an angle of the backup jaw having, at the outer end thereof, a backup surface, the backup surface being parallel the torqueing jaw torqueing surface and spaced from it a distance slightly greater than Y, the length of the torqueing surface being less than /2 Z.

2. A wrench according to claim 1 wherein the spacing between the jaws is of a portion of a hexagon in configuration.

3. A wrench according to claim 1 wherein the spacing between the jaws is of a portion of a duo-decagon in configuration.

4. A wrench according to claim 1 wherein said torqueing jaw has, at the outer end thereof, a guiding surface, the plane of which is inclined towards said backup jaw and said wrench body, the guiding surface intersecting said torqueing surface. 

1. A combination torqueing and ratcheting wrench for a hexagonal member in which the distance between opposing faces is Y and the length along a face is Z comprising: a body having a handle portion extending in one direction and spaced apart jaws in the opposite direction, one of the jaws being a torqueing jaw and the other being a backup jaw, the spacing between the jaws configured to engage at least portions of at least five sides of a hexagonal member whereby a hexagonal member therein may be torqued by rotation of the handle relative to the member in either direction, the jaws having at the outer ends an open space therebetween, the torqueing jaw having, at the outer end thereof a notch formed of two planer surfaces, one being a torqueing surface and the other a positioning surface, the torqueing and positioning surface intersecting at an angle of 120*, the backup jaw having, at the outer end thereof, a backup surface, the backup surface being parallel the torqueing jaw torqueing surface and spaced from it a distance slightly greater than Y, the length of the torqueing surface being less than 1/2 Z.
 2. A wrench according to claim 1 wherein the spacing between the jaws is of a portion of a hexagon in configuration.
 3. A wrench according to claim 1 wherein the spacing between the jaws is of a portion of a duo-decagon in configuration.
 4. A wrench according to claim 1 wherein said torqueing jaw has, at the outer end thereof, a guiding surface, the plane of which is inclined towards said backup jaw and said wrench body, the guiding surface intersecting said torqueing surface. 